Crimson Echo
by Dreams-of-Red
Summary: Aeris is running from a mysterious stranger, and lands right in the hands of Vincent, who decides to let her stay in the Shinra Mansion with him. Who is chasing Aeris, and will she fall in love with Vincent, who is hiding dark secrets of his own?
1. 1

It was silent. The night crept up to the lighted houses and stalked just beyond the weak yellow rings of illumination. The slums always held somewhat of an eerie quality, even in broad sunlight. Tonight a shadow was stalking through the small dimly lit sector, black eyes absorbing it's environment soundlessly. It passed a house, throwing a monstrous winged shadow on the ground. It was waiting. Perhaps even calling to a mortal to stumble carelessly into it's path.   
  
Ah, and here one came. Stumbling off-balance, obviously drunk beyond logic, his breathing irregular. Fear in his eyes suddenly as he noticed the presence of the shadow. He tried to run, but its resistance was nothing. Fresh blood spilled out into the cool night air, and gave the stars a reddish hue to the demon's sight. The lust for destruction was almost sated in him, and he felt the other's struggles becoming stonger, more persistant. The battle raging within had started in earnest, as it did almost every night these days. The demon was growing stronger, winning out longer and taking possession of this form more often. With a final rustle of majestic wings he was gone, away from the carnage and surrendered to his human form once again.  
  
Vincent shuddered. He hated this more then anything. He stood numbly in front of the now-abandoned Shinra Mansion, and just stared out at the mountains dully. He was tired, yet he could see that even if he went inside, sleep would not come to him. The mountains started to become faintly tinged with rose as he watched. The sun was starting to rise. The pink spilled out onto low-lying clouds over the harsh mountain peaks, merging with brighter orange. Then the dark blue of the sky faded to purple, and then to deep red, as the sun drew closer. He did not wait for it to rise, instead walked through the rusted, vine covered gate, and into his mansion.   
  
He walked through the rooms, his movements fluid though it was still dark inside. He knew almost every inch of this place, where to avoid faulty floorboards, holes, furnature. He had moved out of the basement, where he had spent 30 years with only his tortured dreams, and had moves to a more airy bedroom on the second floor. However, he just couldn't bear to sleep in a real bed on mornings like these. The beauty would creep around him and remind him of how deformed he himself was. No, in mornings after a kill, after he had let the demon Chaos win yet again he retreated to the damp darkness of the coffin he kept in the basements.   
  
He descended the sprial path downwards, and shut out the light, looking apathetically at the worn, familiar satin that lined this coffin. Memories were flooding back to him as they always did, but he pushed them away again, forcing his mind to remain blank. He wouldn't think about her. Those memories were locked away with the sunshine...Or at least that is what he told himself. His dreams, when he finally did sleep, betrayed him.   
  
It was late afternoon when he next awoke. He was sitting at the kitchen table, with a hot mug of black coffee, looking out the window on the wall he was facing. It threw a little gridden square of dimming sunlight on the floor. He took a sip of the coffee. He never really liked the stuff, but he had gotten used to it, and appreciated the warmth, though the caffine generally did nothing for him. Suddenly a loud crash pulled him sharply out of his reverie. Then a scream, decidedly feminine. His crimson eyes narrowed, and he started off quickly towards the origin of the sound.  
  
Another scream a little desperate. He turned the corner into a dusty room. A girl was cornered by one of the annoying monsters that hid in the mansion, appearing time-to-time. Her arms were up, covering her head, and shehad a seep cut across her forearm. Vincent pulled out one of the hand guns he always kept on his person, and fired a series of shots at the thing. It finally dies, and burst into ashes. Vincent looked at the girl, who was slowly uncovering her face, and looking up meekly.   
  
She was beautiful, in a purely innocent way. Long wavy chestnut brown hair, softly framing her face. Her eyes were a starting blue-green, and Vincent caught the faint scent of flowers from her. She stood, cautious, and a little afriad of him, even though he had just saved her life. Then again, he didn't blame her. He sighed and holstered his gun.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
The question seemed to take her off guard, perhaps it was too direct, he reflected. She struggled to find her voice again to answer him.   
  
"I...I was just, I mean...I'm sorry. Someone was chasing me, and I ran here and hid..but then that thing showed up, and..."  
  
"You should be more careful."  
  
Silence, for a minute, in which the girl looked like she was readt to strike up further conversation, and Vincent was hoping she would change her mind and leave him alone. Saving the day wasn't really on his list to do today, and he definetly did not want to be wrapped up in whetever trouble this girl might or might not be involved in.   
  
"Um, my name is Aeris..thank you."  
  
He nodded curtly, and said nothing, hoping to discourage her with his silence. Seeing that he wasn't going to persue matters with her, Aeris spoke again.  
  
"I don't mean to impose upon you, sir..but.." She paused. "Does this mansion belong to you?"  
  
Vincent shrugged.  
  
"I live here."  
  
"Oh..because I was wondering...um.."  
  
"No."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You cannot stay here. If you are seeking safety, there are much better places then this. And I prefer to be alone."  
  
Aeris blinked back tears of defeat and frustration that started to well up.   
  
"But.."  
  
Vincent turned away and walked out of the room. He had only spoken the truth to the girl. the mansion was dangerous in itself, with it's rotting wood and trick passageways. The there were the monsters, and the girl was obviously not able to defend herself...but still, he hadn't failed to miss her tears. He wondered breifly who *was* chasing her..  
  
Footsteps, suddenly pounding down the hall after him. He stopped.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Aeris caught up with him, crying in full now, and trying to catch her breath between quiet sobs.   
  
"Please...just for a few days..I don't know where else I could hide where he can't find me..."  
  
Vincent looked at her, his expression not softening any. But his eyes had yeilded slightly, the cold wall gone from their crimson depths, the only sign he was affected by her words at all.  
  
"Two days. And if you get yourself killed it's not my responsibility."  
  
A big smile lit up Aeris's face, and she brushed away her tears.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Vincent dismissed this with a nod. Then she ran up and hugged him, taking him completely by surprise. He was too shocked to react, and just let her. How long had it been since he had been even touched by human? Years, at least. Aeris let go of him, still smiling, and went off to find a semi-decent room to move into. After a moment he spoke after her, quietly.  
  
"Be careful, this place is old..Watch your feet on the floor boards."  
  
His voice was cool, but even he could see the tin spark of protectiveness that had sneaked into the statement. He shook his head to clear it, and walked back to the kitchen to finsih his rapidly-cooling coffee.  
  
***  
  
AN: Whew, done with the first chapter. This is my fourth ff7 fic! Yay for me. I hope everyone likes it.. There will be uunexpected pairings in later chapters, and Tifa and Sephy are going to make an enterance to the plot. Please write me a review, makes us authors ever-so happy. ^.^ More to come. 


	2. 2

"What?!"  
  
The man slammed his black gloved hand down on the desk, causing the woman standing before him to jump slighty. Her hands were behind her back, and her eyes lowered, causing her black hair to shadow her face.  
  
"Please don't be angry, she just dissapeared.."  
  
He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"People don't just dissapear. You lost her."  
  
She remained staring at the ground, silently. He stood up from his desk, and walked around it to stand behind the woman. He ran his fingers along the line of her neck and shoulder lightly. She winced, and braced herself. She could practically feel his anger, sense it in the air around them.  
  
"Sephiroth..."  
  
Her voice ws quiet, pleading for him to keep his temper. However, it didn't work. She held back a cry of pain as he violently shoved her away from him, sending her crashing into the large mahogany desk he kept in the room. She collapsed onto the floor and didn't stand up again. She knew that it was better to remain passive when Sephiroth was in one of these moods.   
  
He crouched down in front of her, placing a hand under her chin and forcing her to look driectly at him. The mako in his eyes glowed slightly, making the green even more intense.  
  
"Tifa, I want you to find her."  
  
His voice had become quiet, making it even more thretening for the supressed anger. Tifa just nodded, and looked away when he released her suddenly. He stood up.  
  
"You have no idea how important she is. Don't fail me."  
  
He turned and walked sharply out of the room, slamming the door and leaving the dark-haired woman alone. She stood carefully, checking to see if anything was broken. Nothing ws, though one of her wrists hurt, and she could already feel bruises start to form on her lower back, where she had hit the edge of the desk.  
  
She sighed, and smoothed out her short black skirt, re-clipping one of her suspenders. Thens he sat on Sephiroth's desk and took out a novel that she kept in the back of one of the drawers he never bothered with. She didn't really have anything to do, but didn't hve time to go anywhere, since Sephiroth would most likely have calmed down, and been on his way back in an hour or so. He always did eventually, it was just a matter of time.  
  
Tifa had been with Sephiroth for about three years now. She had never told anyone why she had decided to work for Shinra, but no one would have been surprised, since she had always been compulsive. Perhaps because there was never really anyone around to care. She often thought of the one friend she had as a child, but he was nothing but a memory now. He had left her to join Soldier when she was about 14, and had never come back. That was maybe 7 years ago, and yet his startlingly blue eyes still haunted her memories.   
  
She looked up from her book, unable to read. The room was softly lit, Sephroth never liked bright lights. Besides the slightly moody atmosphere, everything was almost immaculate. Steel file folders lined a wall, crammed with files on people that he composed. His desk was mostly orderly, though it had some paperwork lying on it at the moment. Verticle blinds were drawn tightly across the large pictureglass window on one side. She got up and twirled the little stick that opened them, then pulled them across, and looked down on the city. Midgar. It wasn't beautiful. Not even a little. But somehow Tifa liked it, with all its slums, and heaps of broken dreams and metal. Perhaps it called to mind the condition of her own soul..  
  
She sighed and sat down on the stainless navy blue carpet, still gazing down at the city from the 52nd floor of the Shinra HQ, lost in her own thoughts. She was thinking about the girl Aeris. She had never liked her. Much too innocent-seeming. A flower girl in the slums indeed. No one here was pure from the stain of humanity. And for some reason she felt competitive around her. She couldn't deny that Aeris was pretty. But almost doll-like, with those big eyes, and a pink ribbon in her hair. Tifa didn't envy her looks, though. Sephiroth's obsession conserned her much more. Somehow it just irratated her, the lengths he was going through for the girl. Not to mention what he was putting her through.  
  
She sighed and rubbed her back, wincing a little. The bruises would show up in a few hours, dark purple and blue. It wasn't that she was jealous of the attention Aeris was getting form Sephiroth, either. It wasn't as if they were lovers. In fact, that was one of the things that she resented about Sephiroth. He never told her where they stood in relations to each other. But she couldn't completely blame him, he just wasn't good at it. And it wasn't his fault either.   
  
Tifa knew what he went through, always being alone. Her own mother had died, and her father was constantly busy, what with being mayor and everything. Though Tifa had it bad, she could only guess how it had been for Sephiroth. He never had parents at all, and not even the few friends and acquaintances that Tifa had. And then the testing.. She shivered. He had described it to her before. Long nights of torture, victim to endless prodding, needles, and experimentation. After a while she opened her book again, found her place in the chapter, and started to read.  
  
***  
  
  
  
AN: Hi minna! I want to thank SsjVII, Crimson Heart, DryHumor and LostWitness for their reviews ^_^ Makes me happy. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I always welcome critique. More Vincent/Aeris in the next chapter (sorry i didn't get around to them in this one ^^; ) 


	3. 3

Aeris sighed in relief and looked around the room in satisfaction. She had cleaned it spotless, after scrounging for a broom, a mop, and some soap and water. The room was actually bordering on semi-cheerful, whereas before it was just plain depressing. Once the layers of dust and neglect were scrubbed off, and the windows opened to let in the afternoon sunlight, the place had an almost romantic air, of old, regal houses or castles.   
  
She sat down on the side of her newly made bed and rested, stretching her back, which was sore from so much standing and bending over. Then she lay down and looked up at the ceiling again. She wondered breifly where her host was doing. Vincent had dissappeared somewhere in the house after mid-morning, without a word to her. He was strange...Even a little scary. Half the time he looked like he was about to murder her for being optimistic, and the other half he was just indifferent. But Aeris saw through it a little. After all, he was probably just lonely, living here all by himself.   
  
She hummed a bar or two of a song that had gotten stuck in her head and just lay there, feeling safter then she had in a very long time. When she felt rested enough, she thought she would go down and make lunch for her and Vincent, since she didn't hear him come back to the floor that she shared with the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen, which was impressive though not too large. There was hardly anything in the refridgerator, and she opened the cabinets.   
  
He had quite a bit of canned food sitting there collecting dust. She wondered vaugely if he only ate take out or something, and if there even was takeout anywhere near this place. She pulled down two cans of chicken vegetable soup. Might as well have leftovers. She turned the stove on, and found a pot under the big sink, putting both cans in and waiting. She figured it would be a good idea to find Vincent to give him time to finish whatever he might be doing before lunch. So she turned the stove lower and looked through the rooms carefully.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
Everything was silent. She suddenly realized he had never told her his name.  
  
"Hm.."  
  
She sighed and leaned on a book case on one of the upstairs bedrooms, thinking. All of a sudden it moved, and she gave a little yelp of surprise as it rotated, and sent her spinning unexpectedly to the ground on the opposite side of a secret passageway. She looked around, eyes adjusting to the near-dark. It was dark. She carefully wound down what seemed to be a ledge, spiraling down into the ground, and tried not to look down herself. She was a little afraid of heights, though she didn't like to admit it. She finally reached the ground and shuddered. It was filthy and dark, smelling of decay. She saw little white gleams in the darkness, and forced herself not to look too hard, just hoping they weren't bones.   
  
"Are you down here?"  
  
She saw light from around the corner, and turned towards it gratefully.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
Vincent was sitting with his back to the enterance of the library, books stacked around him, focused almost entirely on what he was reading. Aeris couldn't help but smile. Despite his intensity, and the somewhat threatening nature of the claw that replaced his left arm, he was actually quite handsome. She could see his profile from where she was standing, his raven hair falling into his red eyes, held back loosely only by a red bandanna. The red cape she had seen him in before was draped over a footstool nearby, and he was left in classic black, with only the silver of his buttons and the dark leather brown of various gun holsters. She wondered why he always carried around his guns.   
  
She coughed a little, to let him know she was there. He was caught off guard, and dropped the book turning defensively towards Aeris, and almost to his feet before he realized who it was, and relaxed.   
  
"..."  
  
"Sorry for startling you.."  
  
She turned a bit red.  
  
"I just wnted to say that I was cooking lunch, and it would be ready pretty soon, if you wanted to come up..."  
  
He paused, but then seemed to ice over a bit.   
  
"I'm busy."  
  
"Oh.."  
  
Aeris's spirits fell, but it only showed a little, through her slightly-less-energetic smile.   
  
"That's okay. Should I just save the leftovers then?"  
  
Vincent shrugged, and sat back down, turning his attention back to the book he was reading.  
  
Aeris was a little hurt at his coldness, so she didn't say anything else, and turned and walked out of the library again, picking her way up the spiraling accent to the main floor, and figiring out how to trigger the secret door. She ran back into the kitchen, her soup was just about to burn. She took it off and set it on another burner quickly, then turned off the stove, catching her breath. She then looked around for a bowl, or something like, and found two. She tought she would set one for Vincent anyways, just in case he changed his mind. She took both of them, along with some silverware(everything seemed so unused, though) and was carrying it into the next room, when her boot suddenly caught on the edge of a loose board, and she went flying.  
  
She braced herself for the fall, and for the noise of the two plates breaking, but she didn't hear it, and suddenly she found herself surpported by a steady arm. She opened her eyes, which she had shut tightly, and looked right up at Vincent, who was cooly balancing the two bowls in his clawed hand, and had also caught her with the other. She immediately regained her balance, blushing like crazy.  
  
"Gomen ne! I feel so clumsy.."  
  
Vincent put the bowls down on the table.   
  
"It's not your fault. These floors are dangerous..I told you to watch where you were walking."  
  
She looked down ruefully.  
  
"I know.."  
  
"Hn. It's all right, nothing was broken."  
  
She looked up, smiling a little once again.  
  
"So have you come upstairs to eat lunch after all?"  
  
He hesitated.  
  
"..Yes."  
  
Her smile widened, and she continues to serve the soup, cheerful once again. Vincent sighed quietly. She was constantly on an emotional rollercoaster it seemed. And it all seemed to be his doing. Did she do this to everyone she is around? Or am I just lucky.. He grimaced at the thought a little. Emotional escapades were not his thing. He had too much to deal with already, and he didn't want to get too attached to this girl. Maybe joining her for lunch wasn't such a good idea...  
  
But she was chattering now, about one thing or another. Her little flower garden in the slums, who bought flowers from her, what her house looked like...And he knew he couldn't have stayed down there when he had hurt her feelings like that. Perhaps he had really gotten to cold.. But no, people like him didn't deserve the warmth of human affection.  
  
"Did you hear me?"  
  
"What? No, I'm sorry."  
  
"I asked if you were all right. You've been so quiet.."  
  
He nodded.   
  
"Fine."  
  
Aeris didn't seem to buy it, but decided to change the subject.  
  
"Um..You never told me your name.."  
  
"Vincent. Vincent Valentine."  
  
Aeris smiled.  
  
"Vincent. It suits you."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
The comment was offhand-sounding, but no one had really ever pointed out anything about his name before. It was just something for people to call him, he never really cared one way or the other. But then again there were a lot of things he felt that way about...  
  
"How long have you been living here?"  
  
She had finished her soup and was looking at him gently, her delicate chin resting on interlaced hands, and her eyes truly curious about him.  
  
"A long time."  
  
"Ah.."  
  
"About 40 years actually."  
  
Her eyes widened.  
  
"40 years? I thought...I mean, you don't look over 30.."   
  
He shrugged, and she took that there was more then there was to the surface of the man, and left it at that, not wanting to push his hospitality by prying into his personal life. He finsihed the mel in silence, and she was lost in her own thoughts. Then he took their dishes to the sink, and told her that he would take care of it, though she tired to convince him otherwise. Eventually she gave in, and told him she was going out for a short walk.  
  
"Be careful, theres a lot of unfriendly things that come out of the mountains around dusk. If you want to avoid trouble, get back before then."  
  
The protectiveness, again. Why should he care whether the girl got killed by monsters? But all of a sudden he realized he would care. One more day. He couldn't get too attached, he wasn't at liberty. He forced these thoughts out of his head, and turned back to the dishes. Then he seemed to remember something.  
  
"Oh...and after the moon rises, don't wander the house, and definetly never go near the basement. Go in your room and lock the door. Don't question it, please."  
  
She didn't, though it was strange. The whole situation was a little odd somehow, like there was something ominously important that she hadn't been told, or had missed. But she brushed it off, and nodded her thanks, turning and walking out into the late sunlight for her walk.  
  
*  
  
Tifa was watching her. It was about an hour since she had first left for a walk, and she had acquired a handful of wildflowers..brilliantly yellow and blue. Her steps were light as she noticed the approaching dusk, and turned back to the Mansion. Tifa had not seen from where she had come, and trailed behind her silently, stopping when Aeris reached the mansion. She smirked a little. It was good news, the girl had holed herself up somewhere, and thought she was safe. She decided to go back and tell Sephiroth, perhaps a night raid would be most fashionable.   
  
She started the long walk back to Midgar, aproximating that she would arrive in about two hours, then they could take an airship back and have everything ready about midnight..which would suit their purpose well enough. She glanced up at the moon, which was full and shone down generously, spilling silver light over the landscape. Beautiful. She was in a better mood then she had been in the last few days, despite her recent failures in regards to Aeris.   
  
After a while she finally arrived at the HQ, and rode the elevator up to her floor. She nodded curtly to the guards that seemed to swarm the place, and knocked on the door to Sephiroth's office. There was silence.   
  
"It's Tifa..."  
  
"Come in."  
  
The tone of his voice was smooth, almost too calm though, as if he were hiding anxiety. It was subtle, but Tifa had come to recognize these small things from him. She opened the door and walked in, standing in front of his desk, and waiting for him to acknowlege her. He finally looked up at her, his green eyes looking her over, almost lazily, but with a predatorial gleam.  
  
"Good news, I presume."  
  
She nodded meekly.  
  
"I discovered where she is hiding herself."  
  
"..And?"  
  
"The old Shrinra Mansion."  
  
Sephiroth frowned slightly. He had bad memories of the place. The Shinra Mansion...it had been out of use for years now, he wouldn't have been surprised at the news that it had suddenly crumbled to dust. It's architecture and construction was one of the less genius descisions of the company. Though it was beautiful, it had never really stood up well to the weather, and had started to fall apart even before Shinra abandoned it, which was something like 10 years after it was built. It was just as well. He glances at the clock. It was only 9:00, plenty of time to pull the thing off tonight.  
  
"I was thinking that we had time to do it tonight, if you wished.."  
  
Tifa volenteered tenatively. Sephiroth was pulled out of his thoughts.  
  
"Exactly what I myself was thinking. Good work, Ms. Lockheart."  
  
He smirked lightly, he used the formality when he was less serious around her, it was a private thing between the two of them. Sephiroth tended to call people by their first names only, or if he did call them by their last he would leave off the title. It was just one more way to insult people, and made it seemingly unintentional. It amused him.   
  
Sephiroth stood and walked over to where Tifa was standing.   
  
"Tsk, you're so tense Ms. Lockheart. You should loosen up, you know."   
  
He placed a hand on her waist, still casual, and stood close to her, looking down into her eyes, a touch playfully, but still with that slightly evil gleam. However, if anything she tensed up more. The bruises on her back were enough to keep her from being completely comfortable in his company for a while. He seemed to remember this suddenly.  
  
"Ah, are you still upset over what happened earlier?"  
  
She looked away.  
  
"Forgive me, Tifa. You know that I get carried away easily..."  
  
I'd say. She kept the retort to herself, and nodded instead, looking back at him. He leaned down and kissed her, a bit heatedly, though it caused her to almost immediately forgive him for hurting her earlier. It was not as if he really meant to hurt her, after all, he was just angry. Thats what she told herself as she responded to the kiss, pressing her body against his.   
  
He slid his other hand up her arm and brushed the black suspender strap off of her shoulder, then let his hands trail down over her breasts lightly and then down to the top of her thigh, sliding it up and lifting her skirt a little. She blushed and broke the kiss, pulling out of his grasp and smoothing out her skirt again, trying to give him a admonishing look, but not really able to keep a straight face. He reached out for her, but she twirled out of his hands again, backing up to the wall and crossing her arms, teasing him just a little.  
  
He followed her, eyes a little more intense with the passion that she was waiting for to replace his amusement. She uncrossed her arms as he pinned her against the wall, roughly but not enough to hurt, and kissed her again. She put her arms around his neck, and wondered why exactly she always gave him what he wanted, in the end. But she abandoned that thought, and lost herself in the sensations that his touch on her bare skin sent tingling through her body. She closed her eyes.  
  
*  
  
Something like a half hour later, he left Tifa on the floor, and stood, to put his clothing back on. Her heart was still racing as she sat up and watched him, hugging her knees. He was always so unnaffected afterwards, no matter how good it had been. It made her wonder if that's the way he always was with women, or if it was just because they were associates. Someday she would quit and find out. The thought made her smile a little, and she picked up her own clothing, and started to get dressed.   
  
Even though Sephiroth was wearing considerably more, he was dressed sooner, and was just putting back on his gloves when Tifa notices the rip in the side seam of her shirt. She sighed. It seemed like she was forever mending clothing around Sephiroth for one reason or another. She looked at the clock, and then at Sephiroth. He picked up Masamune.  
  
"It's not too late. Let's go."  
  
She composed herself, and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. The two of them left together to find a faster means of transportation.  
  
*   
  
  
  
  
AN: In case you're wondering why the insane author of this fic decided to overlook the fact that Tifa hates Sephiroth, be assured that this is not a plot hole. It will be explained later, so bear with me. This was my first non-yaoi lime @_@ wa. But on a lighter note, isn't Vincent kawaii? I'm going to tell you in the next chapter what Aeris really thinks about him ^^ And Tifa falls in love with someone else too.. Review! 


	4. 4

The moon was calm overhead, mocking the turbulence within him. He was kneeling in the middle of his bedroom floor, with his arms wrapped around himself. The demon was trying to resurface. In the back of his mind he knew it was a losing battle, but he also knew the only thing he could do was fight it, so he told himself he would win it. And he lost every time. He stifled a cry of pain as the wings ripped from his back, his clothing melding into black skin, the fingers of his good hand and his metallic claw both elongating into razor sharp claws. He closed his eyes tightly, as the transformation finally gained control of his body, leaving his human mind locked inside somewhere, screaming.  
  
Outside, Tifa and Sephiroth had just dismounted their ship, and were walking towards the mansion, keeping to the shadows. Sephiroth led the way, slipping through the gate, rusted half-open, and tried the large wooden doors. They gave easily, and he walked in, his movements liquid and silent. Tifa followed him, as quietly, if not as striking. He motioned for her to stay by the door and block the only safe escape route from the place while he found Aeris. She nodded once, and he disappeared into one of the interlocking rooms.   
  
Tifa relaxed after a while, in the quiet peace of the place. Yes it was creepy, but all that was here was a little lost flower girl holed up like a mouse, and maybe a few roaches. She had just started to breathe easily when something caught her attention on the main staircase. Her eyes widened in sudden fear. It was a silhouette, against the silver-tinted stained glass window above the stair. Majestic purple wings, stretched above a ferally evil-looking beast. It was crouched down, it's black eyes trained directly at her. She stopped breathing and hoped it was her eyes playing tricks on her. Then it started to descend the stairs. She screamed, she couldn't help it. Then she turned and ran.  
  
Aeris awoke with a start. A scream, very close to her. She regarded her locked door, the cold warning from Vincent echoing in her head. But, what if someone was in trouble? She was scared, but also powerfully curious. Just a look wouldn't hurt...And if someone was in trouble she could get Vincent. She slid back the bolt and crept into the hallway, trying to be quiet. The first thing she noticed was that the two heavy double-doors were wide open to the night. The second thing was the pair of bright green eyes trained on her.   
  
"S..Sephiroth.."  
  
She was frozen, unable to move. Caught like a deer in headlights. He smiled slowly and walked to her. She tried to turn and run with all of her will, but she just couldn't. He reached out and touched her face, and then her survival instincts kicked in. She ran for all she was worth, her brown curls unbound and flying out behind her, and dressed in only the white slip she wore beneath her usual dress. But she wasn't fast enough. She felt a strong hand grip her arm, and she was pulled to an abrupt stop.  
  
"Help! Vincent..!"   
  
Sephiroth took her face in his hands quietly, and with an almost apologetic look he slammed her head back against the wall, knocking her out cold. Then he picked her up easily, and carried her back to the enterance to the mansion, looking for Tifa. He had heard her scream, and had gone to see what had happened when he picked up the faint sound of a bolt unlocking. He had a feeling it was Aeris, and was walking towards it when she had walked around the corner. But now that she had been captured, he could spare consern for Tifa again. The woman was usually so proffessional in tight situations, it must have been something serious to have her scream like that. He walked outside. The night was clear and silent, the way it was when they had first entered the mansion. There was no sign of Tifa.   
  
Chaos had played with her. She ran, and he followed her leisurely, taking to the air. The little mortal thought she could escape him. He decided to take her life, as soon as she gave up running. Tifa, however, was not inting to do anything of the sort for as long s she could help it. Nervous glances over her shoulder every couple of minutes confirmed that the demon was still following her. She sensed it's game. It was taking it's time, and she intended to live as long as she could. She was headed for the Nibel Mountains. It took hours for her to finally slow down, her body unable to be pushed much further. She stumbled into a small cave, and collapsed on the floor, holding back sobs of defeat and fatigue. She coughed, her breathing strained and quick. The moonlight that slanted across the floor of the little cave suddenly was blocked, and she squeezed her eyes shut, and backed up to the wall, putting her fists up, prepared to fight to the end. She opened her eyes, suddenly resolute, and then slowly lowered her fists.   
  
The demon was sitting a ways outside of the enterance, just looking at her, as if confused. She looked back at it for a space of time. It made no move towards her. And in fact, the menacing, evil presence that it had eminated in the Mansion was gone entirely. She stood, catching her breath and trying to figure this out. After while she took an unsteady step forward, and then another. She just stood in front of it, meeting it's dark eyes, unexplicably raptured.   
  
Chaos itself was caught in a conflicting storm of emotions. The creature had seemingly no desire to kill this woman. It had been determined to, chasing her all the way here, but at the sight of her cornered there, not simply giving in, but holding on to life with a vengeance, he had suddenly lost interest in her blood. It was something that had never even crossed the demon's mind before, and Vincent had also taken the moment of weakness to gain leverage against the demon, struggling for power. It finally just surrendered to him, and in a matter of seconds, it was Vincent who was standing across from Tifa. They regarded each other in silence.   
  
"Why did you break into the mansion?"  
  
Tifa narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"It's none of your consern."  
  
Vincent cooly whipped out a gun and pointed it at her.  
  
"Now it is. Are you after Aeris?"  
  
She just glared at him.  
  
"I will kill you, if you do not give me a reason not to."  
  
"Shoot me, then. Aeris is already gone anyways."  
  
A single gunshot was fired, and richoted harmlessly off the stone of the cave. Vincent hardly had time to absorb the shock of him missing his target, even if it was intended to be just a warning shot, into her arm, before he was reeling back from two precise blows. His face and ribs stung violently, and he gained his balance and looked for his attacker. She suddenly flipped into sight, and executed another series of lightening fast blows, which this time he was ready for, and managed to counteract fairly well. After all, he had extensive hand-to-hand combat training as a turk, he just never prefered using it. He sprang back, catlike, and fired a series of shots at her, hoping at least a few would hit her. She was surprisingly fast, though a few of the bullets did graze her, and one hit its mark in her side.   
  
However, it didn't seem to faze her, and she launched into another attack. Vincent fell back a few steps, she was vicious, and extremely skilled in close combat. Then all of a sudden after a high spin-kick (which he managed to duck just in time) she just collapsed, unconscious. Vincent looked at her for a few seconds, his gun pointed at her, in case she was faking it. But he could tell by the sound of her shallow breaths, and the blood now seeping from around her body. He holstered his gun and kneeled down beside her, turning her body over so she lay on her back. The bullet was still lodged into her. He took note of the situation cooly, and pressed a hand to her wound to stop the bloodflow. He wondered why he was bothering to save her, but then concluded that he could get her to tell him where Aeris was.   
  
He had just torn a long strip of fabric from the bottom hem of his cape, and was binding her side neatly when her eyes fluttered open. They met his cold red ones, and she immediately started to struggle, feebly. The attempt was futile, of course. She had lost too much blood, and had been exaused when she first started the fight. She thought with no little resentment of where Sephiroth probably was. Safe back at headquarters with the girl. Her eyes narrowed, and she coughed violently, sending daggers of pain into her side. She gasped and lost consciousness again for a few minutes.   
  
Well, it had seemed like a few minutes, but when she woke again, she was in a bed, shivering beneath layers of blankets. She felt like her whole body was burning, and her head felt heavy. Damn, a fever. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to sit up, looking around. Sure enough, her captor was standing in the frame of the bolted door, and appeared to be dozing lightly. She decided that she would jump out of the window if she had to, and struggled to stand, her side sending sharp pain through her already hurting head. Her feet touched the cold ground and she pushed herself to stand on them, shakily. She started to walk towards the large window when suddenly they gave out on her, weak from bloodloss and fever. She crashed to the ground, the noise immediately bringing Vincent to alertness. He walked over and picked her up, none too gently, and gave her a little push back towards the bed, pointedly avoiding looking right at her. Then he walked over and locked the window.   
  
"I wouldn't suggest trying to escape. I'll shoot one of your knees next time."  
  
She glared venomously.   
  
"You bastard. What do you want from me?"  
  
"Information. It's simple."  
  
"...No."  
  
"I'll even offer you your freedom. Just tell me who you're working for, and where the girl is."  
  
Silence. Vincent sighed. He didn't know why he suddenly had to go after this little flower girl who had stumbled onto his property. She hadn't meant anything to him...or had she? She was the only one in years to reach out to him. To show any kind of trust or friendship. He had been alone for so long. And now it did matter what happened to her. He sighed. And now this woman, she was a problem in herself. Somehow just looking at her for too long set Chaos on a rampant struggle inside of him. He had no idea what effect she had on the demon..Vincent had never even seen her, and it wasn't as if Chaos had been around before Vincent himself. So he resolved it my not looking at her, not meeting her eyes. It seemed easier to control himself that way, though even her presence seemed to agitate him.  
  
Tifa's own mind was churning, frenized with hallucinations and skewed logic. Impossible escape plans, attacks, and so on. And then beneath it all a cool kind of speculation. A dettached part of her mind that was still working in what seemed to be a hopeless situation. It was evaluating her strength, the materia she had been carrying, this man's strenghts and weaknesses. Weaknesses. All of a sudden the two parts of her mind snapped together, and the thought came through crystal clear to her. Her captor and the demon were sharing the same body. All she had to do was make the demon resurface, and escape from it, which she seemed to think would be easier then escaping from the gunman. But what could she do to trigger the transformation? What was it that made the demon stop, when it was obviously his intention to kill her? Or was it... She came up with an insane and desperte plan, all the conclusion she could draw at the moment.   
  
She got to her feet again, and walked towards the black-haired man. Her resolution seemed to lend her body the strength she needed. He seemed to be taken by surprise, and inched his hand towards his gun enough so that he could draw it at the slightest indication of a threat. He had taken off her gloves and her boots while she was sleeping. She didn't see them around the room, but it didn't matter. She leaned towards him, and kissed him. He pulled back, too quickly, in fact, and hit his head on the doorframe behind him. He gasped in pain, and slid to the floor, not from the head injury (which was slight) but from the sudden resurgance of the beast within. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, and clenched his shaking hand into a tight fist, his clawed one supporting his weight as he kneeled on the ground.   
  
Tifa backed up, giving him room, but watching in facination as another form started to take his place. It was halfway physical, a melding and reforming of flesh and bone, and halfway magical, almost, like the big wings that suddenly flickered into being. The whole thing took perhaps 10 seconds. Chaos sat and watched her, another kind of intellegence from Vincent's in his black eyes. Tifa smiled, almost in relief that her plan had worked.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
It seemed to lower its head a little, in a nod, but Tifa couldn't be sure.   
  
"I'm going to leave out the window..."  
  
It didn't make a move to stop her.  
  
"..But we might see each other again."  
  
With that she turned and kicked in the glass, her head reeling, and jumped, landing in a crouch to absorb the impact. It was only the second story, thank gods, and though her legs suffered even more, she was mostly unhurt, though maye scratched up a little. She took a step forward and almost fell flat to the ground. Her side hurt more then she thought possible from a bullet wound, and she was exausted. But she had to get back to Sephiroth, he was really the only one she could trust. He would take care of her..  
  
That was the thought that echoed through her head as she forced herself to keep walking. The sun had rose over the horizon when she finally arrived back at Shinra Headquarters. It was a pale dawn. She collapsed near the door, unable to go any further. A guard walked over brisquely, and she managed a cold look, and ordered him to go get Sephiroth immediately. Then she passed out again.  
  
She awoke when someone effortlessly picked her up, and started to walk up what felt like stairs. She opened her eyes just a little, and the harsh light of the building immediately forced them closed again. But not before she caught sight of his silver hair, and his quietly conserned green eyes looking down at her. She relaxed the tension she had been holding, and allowed herself to slip back into darkness.  
  
*  
  
AN: Sorry I lied to you all, but in the next chapter, I promise there'll be a Vincent/Aeris confrontation! As of the last chapter I broke my record on reviews for one story (sad that it was only 5 to begin with, hehe) See where begging for reviews can get you? lol. So thank you Lost Witness for following my progress, and also to chibi-aeris (were you right about vincent's advice? i will definetly look at your fics some time, and yes, snowfields is great ^.^) and Lord Cirenmas. Oh, and by the way, the next chapter might take a while, I wrote this whole thing over the weekend, and during school I'm so busy! But next weekend... 


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